Diabetes

[enigma731]

I understand the limited knowledge that exists in birds.

 

[Greylady1966]

@enigma731 this will be a long post from the start of it to what we know now. We took Howard to the vet December 23 because he had diarrhea and was tired. X-rays showed enlarge liver his blood sugar was high. We had him up again January 29 and they did bloodwork and x-rays again. Bloodwork was sent to a lab in Kanas. We went back again to talk about his results. No infection was found bloodwork again showed blood sugar close to 800 again. I'm not a veterinarian so when she said he needed insulin that's what I did. 1 unit every day. I trusted her completely. She helped me so much when Nikki was diagnosed with aspers. I'm suppose to have a phone consultation with a vet that has more knowledge at 4:45. I left today with more questions than answers. I'm devastated. I almost killed Howard by giving him the injection.

 

[Ulis_Beast]

@enigma731 this will be a long post from the start of it to what we know now. We took Howard to the vet December 23 because he had diarrhea and was tired. X-rays showed enlarge liver his blood sugar was high. We had him up again January 29 and they did bloodwork and x-rays again. Bloodwork was sent to a lab in Kanas. We went back again to talk about his results. No infection was found bloodwork again showed blood sugar close to 800 again. I'm not a veterinarian so when she said he needed insulin that's what I did. 1 unit every day. I trusted her completely. She helped me so much when Nikki was diagnosed with aspers. I'm suppose to have a phone consultation with a vet that has more knowledge at 4:45. I left today with more questions than answers. I'm devastated. I almost killed Howard by giving him the injection.

You saved his life. You gave him the syrup. It was GOOD quick thinking.
As for the injection, it was also done with his best interest in mind.
I'm so sorry you're going through this.
You're both in my thoughts.

 

[Hankmacaw]

@Greylady1966 I certainly understand how devastated you felt when he crashed from the insulin. I've almost killed Jasper a couple of times with errors I made - not like you following instructions to a T. I often say that our birds live many times despite us, not because of us.

I sure hope the new vet is knowledgeable about diabetes in avians. I'm rooting for you and Howard every step - just sorry that I can't give you more help.

 

[Begone]

I left today with more questions than answers. I'm devastated. I almost killed Howard by giving him the injection.

I can't even imagine how you are feeling because he crashed, but you did get him back, so I agree that you saved him.

I like that you are talking to another vet. I would consult a third just to be sure you are doing everything right.

If you give him a correct diabetes diet every 3 - 4 hrs, does he still need insulin injections?
That I have asked all the vets.
And what about exercising?
Can it help.

Don't give up!

 

[Greylady1966]

@Hankmacaw the only reason I thought to give him something sweet is because I saw my mother in law act like that when she crashed. That's what they called it. They gave her orange juice. I grabbed the first thing I saw that was sweet. I thought I was doing the right thing by following her directions. I'm concerned about what the vet will say later. I was referred to her by several people who have parrots. I also texted a "friend " last night who told me I could have killed him by not knowing enough or asking the right questions. And that I blindly listened to someone that didn't know how to treat it.

 

[enigma731]

I don't see how you could possibly be held responsible when nobody really knows how to treat it. Everyone, including the vet, is doing their best in a situation with a lot of unknowns. If anyone is going to be mad about anything, be mad at the disease.

 

[Greylady1966]

@Eloy Howard's feet are deformed from having his toes bit off and walking hard for him but we have on the carpet trying. He falls forward a lot. We got him from a hoardings situation so we know very little about him.

 

[Greylady1966]

Our vet is sending us glipizide .25 one time a day.

 

[Hankmacaw]

@Hankmacaw the only reason I thought to give him something sweet is because I saw my mother in law act like that when she crashed. That's what they called it. They gave her orange juice. I grabbed the first thing I saw that was sweet. I thought I was doing the right thing by following her directions. I'm concerned about what the vet will say later. I was referred to her by several people who have parrots. I also texted a "friend " last night who told me I could have killed him by not knowing enough or asking the right questions. And that I blindly listened to someone that didn't know how to treat it.

Oh baloney. You did the right thing. I guess your friend would just stand there wringing her hands and watch someone she loves die if she didn't have a Dr. standing right there giving instructions.

We do the best we can with what we have. And sometimes we will lose, but we did something. Don't let self doubt freeze you.

 

[Greylady1966]

@Hankmacaw thank you. The odd thing about this person is she refuses to have bloodwork done on her parrots because she feels it's unnecessary and it's too hard on parrots. She feels the vet can look at them and weigh them and that's it. I take mine every 6 months regardless if they need it or not. And she's questioning me...

 

[Hankmacaw]

There's your proof - she's a fool. Birds can't tell you, "Mom I'm feeling bad. I think I need medical care".

 

[Greylady1966]

I'm pretty blunt so next time she wants to know how my parrots are my reply might be "probably better than yours"

 

[Shezbug]

I'm pretty blunt so next time she wants to know how my parrots are my reply might be "probably better than yours"

After the comment she made to you when you were doing what you could to help Howard I think she deserves more than that..... this is a much nicer version of what I would have come up with

 

[Greylady1966]

@Shezbug it probably won't be that nice

 

[Hawk12237]

Wait, what? How would insulin act as a beta blocker and in what way would decreasing blood pressure cause blood sugar to crash?

My bad, I should have been more clear. When I got tigger, the too, he kept going into a weak mode. Really strange. One minute he would be super hyper, the next he would literally fall over and just sit there for a few minutes sitting on his feet. After so many tests. Vet determined he had borderline heart disease. Mainly on the right side. His blood pressure was up and down. So the vet tried a low dose of atenolol I think it's called, a beta blocker mainly used for cats and dogs. Tried It on the bird.
It didn't seem to do much for him, more test were run and at vets and it was determined after a few months of tests he was diabetic as well. He came from a home where they fed him cookies, cake, ice creams and that. He was kept over nite and given insulin shot first thing in morning. When I went to pick him up he was fine. The vet and I discussed the options and treatment. While standing there at vets, trigger let out a loud awk, crashed and didn't recover. I'm standing there in vets office stunned and asking what the heck just happened!
The vet gave me some jardon that the beta blocker interacted with the insulin. And blah blah blah...
I put my trust in the vet, but I have a bad feeling trigger was used a a ginnea pig because they didn't know anything about the disease.
So my apologies if I wasn't clear on how I phrased that.

 

[Greylady1966]

I've been reading about glipizide in parrots and from what I understand it's the same as insulin injections. I'm not sure as to why they would give injections instead of oral? I've been reading all I can on diabetes in parrots so it's entirely possible I misunderstand it all.

 

[Hankmacaw]

Glipizide is not insulin. Glipzide promotes insulin production by the panccreas.

Glipizide is the generic name for Glucotrol. It is a sulfonylurea that works by increasing insulin secretion so that the body can use it more efficiently. The increased insulin allows the body to use excess sugar in the body and lower overall levels. Glipizide can be administered as a 5 mg or 10 mg oral tablet.

Glipizide vs. metformin: Which works better?

We compare the two medications used to treat diabetes

www.singlecare.com

 

[Clueless]

@Greylady1966

Keep looking for someone that knows more about diabetes in parrots. I bet they're out there.

It wouldn't hurt to call a few avian vets and ask if they were aware of someone who treats diabetes in parrots. Maybe ultimately a telephone consult with your local vet could help.

I was actually thinking of hauling MC up to see Dr. Orosz because I was very impressed when I heard her speak at the aging in parrots retreat hosted by Phoenix Landing.

Our Practice — Bird and Exotic Pet Wellness Center

www.birdandexotics.com

Then, I was blessed to find someone 3 hours away that operated on my little buddy.

 

[Hawk12237]

Glipizide is not insulin. Glipzide promotes insulin production by the panccreas.

Glipizide is the generic name for Glucotrol. It is a sulfonylurea that works by increasing insulin secretion so that the body can use it more efficiently. The increased insulin allows the body to use excess sugar in the body and lower overall levels. Glipizide can be administered as a 5 mg or 10 mg oral tablet.

Glipizide vs. metformin: Which works better?

We compare the two medications used to treat diabetes

www.singlecare.com

Be careful with that too Mary, one thing about that particular medicine is that yea, it works with pancreas to produce insulin naturally, and yes use the sugar excess.
provided there is excess sugar to be used.
One of the common side effects however is low blood sugar, and risk of crashing.